Apple Beats Musk, Buys Prompt AI Startup

Apple will soon acquire Prompop AI employees (photo: x @DreamyTechGirl)

JAKARTA - Apple is reportedly close to finalizing a deal with startup computervisionPrompt AI, beating Elon Musk's xAI to secure the talent and technology to be used in Apple Intelligence and HomeKit Secure Video.

While Apple is one of the big names in the consumer-oriented AI sector, there is a perception that they lag far behind its competitors. With problems such as the very slow launch of Apple Intelligence and the lack of promised major changes to Siri, the Cupertino company should take action if it wants to really catch up.

One of these actions is to buy or acquire (acquisition to recruit employees) from other companies, which according to CNBC is almost done by Apple with Prompt AI. According to Friday's report, October 10, Apple is in final talks with the startup to secure new talents.

The Prompt AI leadership is reported to have held a meeting with all 11 startup employees to explain the agreement. This purchase is not for the company as a whole, but rather for the company's talent and technology struggle.

Employees who don't join Apple seem to be getting a lower salary and will be encouraged to try out other open roles at Apple. Investors, including those participating in a $5 million round of seeds by 2023, will "not be fully paid" by the sale, but will earn some money.

Apple is reportedly not the only company interested in Prompt AI. Elon Musk's Neuralink and xAI are also said to be considering negotiating their own deal.

Goodbye Seemour

The main product of Prompt AI is Seemour, an AI-based technology that adds functionality to home security cameras. This includes adding detection of people, pets, and objects, as well as making text descriptions for activity reports.

At a glance, this sounds similar to HomeKit Secure Video, which can do facial recognition with footage from multiple security cameras. However, given Apple's request for iPhone-based AI services, acquisitions like this would be more suitable for the company's area.

CEO of TPrompt AI, ete Xiao, reportedly told employees that, although the technology and apps are working well, the business model behind it is not going well enough. The point is to stop the app and warn users that their data will be deleted.

While there is no guarantee that Apple will bring them in, there are two big names tied to the company. Xiao is a well-known AI researcher, while President of Propt AI, Trevor Darrel, founded the Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research lab.

If this deal is completed, it will be the latest for Apple as they try to keep their AI projects.

In July, it was revealed that Apple had taken over TrueMeeting in 2024. TrueMeeting technology allows users to scan their faces with iPhones to produce AI avatar images, and may be used to improve Personnel on Apple Vision Pro.

Around the same time, Apple bought WhyLabs, which works to prevent hallucinations in large language models.

In May, four more acquisitions emerged, including total Labs in May 2024 to help strengthen its Calendar functionality with AI.

News of acqui-hireter has recently emerged amid fighting between major tech companies to seize AI employees from other companies. Lead team members have been persuaded with massive compensation packages to companies like Meta, to continue building their AI services and technologies.

While Apple acquired to repair its eroded AI team, they did so without making too big a purchase.

In July, CEO Tim Cook confirmed Apple had acquired seven companies as of this year. Although he insists that nothing is very expensive, Cook added that Apple is still open to purchases that "accelerate our roadmap."

There is still a possibility of large purchases, although executives have different views on whether to continue to acquire or be more careful. There are talks about the Acquisition of Mistral and Perplexity, a move that could cost Apple billions if they decide to do so.